Let’s have some fun. 　　List your Top 5 girls’ names.  In order if possible.  With explanations for why you love them so much, if you like. 　　Your Top 5 might include names you’ve chosen for your own daughter or names you plan to use.  Or it might just be a...

　　By Abby Sandel, Appellation Mountain 　　Americans are more daring when it comes to naming daughters, and the numbers bear this out. 　　In 2013, just over 67% of girls born in the US received a Top 1000 name.  Boys, on the other hand, received a Top 1000 name nearly 79% of...

　　By Hannah Young 　　I am name obsessed. When I am reading at bedtime to my eight-year old son, I will pause as we encounter new characters, “Hmm … Polly, that’s a good name isn’t it?” before he puts his fingers in his ears and begs for mercy, “Stop the naming madness,...

　　By Nick Turner 　　In 1970, the novel Love Story captured America‘s imagination with the tale of a wealthy Harvard jock who meets a girl from the other side of the tracks. It was soon followed by a movie of the same name — a tear-jerker that became the top box-office draw...

　　By Linda Rosenkrantz 　　I’ve long loved Lola, and lately I’ve been crushing on Viola and Finola–which inspired me to take a look at what other ola names there are, and was pleased to find that there are lots of options, coming from several different ethnicities. As opposed to the diminutive ina-ending, ola‘s...

　　By Abby Sandel, Appellation Mountain 　　When it comes to naming a daughter, imagination reigns.  From Hollywood birth announcements to literary powerhouses, blog babies to the most random of name spottings, a great name can come from anywhere. 　　This week’s potential seismic name influence?  Disney’s big screen retelling of Sleeping Beauty....

　　By Abby Sandel, Appellation Mountain 　　Names from the Middle Ages are fascinating. They’re often quite similar to those parents love today, but tend to be almost entirely overlooked. 　　Nameberry has long had the Coolator. I would call this the Medievalizer, except that sounds like a torture device. 　　Instead, this is...

　　By Abby Sandel, AppellationMountain 　　What makes a name real? 　　To think bigger, what makes a word real?  That’s the question raised by English professor and language historian Anne Curzan in her TED talk. 　　They’re long-standing questions, but the speed of our modern age means that change happens fast.  Imagine a...

　　By Abby Sandel, Appellation Mountain 　　Do you prefer your girls’ names short and simple, or long and elaborate? 　　There’s no right answer, and plenty of parents shortlist Rose and Isabella, Blair and Ellington. 　　From just one syllable to seven or eight, this week’s high profile birth announcements proved that parents...

　　By Brooke Cussans, Baby Name Pondering 　　Both Adelaide and Adeline are beautiful, classic sounding names that have been gaining popularity for the past decade. Although similar, they are also distinct enough that it’s very possible they would both appear on many people’s lists. So how do you choose if you are partial to both? Sometimes it helps...

　　by Ren Williams 　　Many of the stories about the recent US Popular Names list focus on the names at the top and on the rise: the Sophias and Jacobs, Khaleesis and Jayceons of the baby name world. 　　But, just as some names go up, others must come down. The following...

　　By Abby Sandel, Appellation Mountain 　　Is the way we name our daughters changing? 　　The way we name our sons in 2014 feels different.  For years we relied on Biblical favorites with a few hardy Germanic go-tos mixed in.  But since the 1990s, we’ve seen names like Tyler, Mason, and Jayden...

　　By Linda Rosenkrantz 　　For what seems like forever, this pair of sainted sister names, Agnes and Agatha, have seemed like the quintessential starched, buttoned-up, high-lace-collared, mauve-dressed Great-Great-Grandmother appellations. 　　I’d like to propose that we let the unbuttoning commence. 　　Agnes has a bit of a leg up on several counts: 　　1....